John 13:8

He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded...
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou has no part with me.

I take it from this passage that unless we allow Christ to cleanse us and to serve us, we have no part with Him, and are not His. To be a Christian is to be continually asking for and relying upon God's help, more commonly called grace. In effect, we have all gone overboard and are walking on the water to Him; we are not sustained by our own power, but by His, according to our faith in Him. If we forget this, or if we start to worry about the wind and the waves, we will sink. The Lord allows this so that we can remember and learn by what power we have been brought hither.

You Are What You Do

From commencement address given by Terry R. Seamons on 24 April 2014:
    You are what you do;
    You do what you choose.
    If you don’t like what you are,
    Then change what you do.

What do you think? Is it really this simple?

A True Story

This is a true story. I'm not just saying this because the video begins with "This is a true story..." It's because as I watched it, I saw and heard all the familiar patterns of life, adversity, disappointment, failure, faith, persistence, and an ongoing, flickering hope that was held onto long enough to bring about salvation, in God's own way and in His own time.

There are many great stories of people's conversion to God. But as Nephi says, that is really just the beginning. I have had a witness similar to the one described in this video. I do not want to disparage anyone who has not yet received it from seeking it, because it is every bit as real, powerful, and life changing as he says. But those of us who have received such a witness know that there are obligations which come with it, and a daily, continual bearing of the cross, or His yoke. Those who want to be free from all burdens and responsibilities will not last long on God's side - not that God will kick them out, but they will leave of themselves in search of something less demanding. I recall the sad words from the U2 song, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For:

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I'm still running.

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Of my shame, you know I believe it.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

After wandering away from Him again and again ("prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love..."), hopefully we always feel our way back to Him. Because He is our Father, He lets us leave, and He does not remove the struggle to feel our way back to Him. He knows this is how we learn. And He welcomes us back like the father running out to embrace the returning prodigal.

Eventually, I pray that we will realize and understand - not with our minds but with our hearts and whole souls - that His yoke and His cross are a privilege to bear; that they are what join us to Him; that it is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to be king of all the world away from Him.

The Price of Precious Knowledge

“You’re right,” the old man said.  “All God would have to do is wave his arm and your request would be granted.  So why does he stay his hand?  I am just a silly old man, but you might be surprised at how much silly old men understand.

     “The knowledge you seek is precious above all else, and it has nothing to do with the intellect.  It has to be burned into every cell of your body until it becomes like breathing, like your heart beating.  And for some reason, God wants you to pay a price first, so that you never take lightly such a gift.  It is a price exacted as much in effort, work, and diligence as it is in patience, submission, and forbearance.  Who knows? perhaps paying the price and gaining the knowledge are part of the same process.”

There is a hole in my soul

“There is a hole in your soul, (Blaise) Pascal said, and it can't be filled by stuff. There is only one thing that fills that hole, and that's God. There is a God-sized hole in your soul. Some people try to throw stuff into the hole: bigger car, bigger house, bigger vacation, more debt associated with it. And it just doesn't work for them.”
-Dave Ramsey

Be careful what you wish for

“Oh, my son,” he said wistfully, “the Universe is designed to give you what you want.  It sees what you love and what you want by how you spend your time, and what you sacrifice for.  After a time, it gives it to you, and then you find that what you wanted was not what you thought it would be.  So you set your heart on something else, and the process repeats itself – over and over – each time refining you, or perhaps revealing you.  Your destiny, whether dark or bright, is indeed inside you.”

“Youth rarely heed the mumblings of the old, but we mumble nonetheless: those whose seek to give, to build, to nurture, and to heal become glorious.  Those who seek to take, to excel, and to conquer become terrifying, lonely, and ultimately impotent.”

Date Range Overlap

The best way to figure out if two date ranges overlap is explained in this stackoverflow answer. However, there is additional information below on calculating the actual amount of overlap, if any.

Crucial Conversations

I was struck by something I read in the book Crucial Conversations:

Let’s try another example. You share a cubicle with a four-star slob and you’re a bit of a neat freak. Your coworker has left you notes written in grease pencil on your file cabinet, in catsup on the back of a french-fry bag, and in permanent marker on your desk blotter. You, in contrast, leave him typed Post-it notes. Typed.

At first you sort of tolerated each other. Then you began to get on each other’s nerves. You started nagging him about cleaning up. He started nagging you about your nagging. Now you’re beginning to react to each other. Every time you nag, he becomes upset, and, well, let’s say that he doesn’t exactly clean up. Every time he calls you an “anal-retentive nanny,” you vow not to give in to his vile and filthy ways.

What has come from all this bickering? Now you’re neater than ever, and your cubicle partner’s half of the work area is about to be condemned by the health department. You’re caught in a self-defeating loop. The more the two of you push each other, the more you create the very behaviors you both despise.

Some points to consider:

1. How many obsessive behaviors stem from the inability or unwillingness to address and resolve conflict in healthy ways?
2. How much of OCD is about conjuring the illusion of control in reaction to circumstances/forces that elude our control?
3. Has anyone yet coined the term 'Spiteful Excellence'?
4. How many of us have a false sense of superiority or righteousness because we obsessively excel at things that - in the larger scheme of things - don't really matter?

Book Review: The Man Who Was Thursday

Just finished re-reading G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare.
I remember this being an entertaining book, but recent events in my life prompted me to go back and re-read it, especially for the last chapter.
This book defies genre classification. My best attempt would be to describe this book as a farcical spy novel, but it is well-crafted enough to be "literature" and still hold my interest. Wikipedia calls it a "metaphysical thriller" (although if you even plan to read this book, do NOT look it up on Wikipedia as the plot summary may spoil the entire experience for you).
I hope that I do not spoil anything by saying that - in the closing chapters - this book unexpectedly ends up touching on the deepest questions about (the Christian) God, the Purpose of Life, and the Problem of Human Suffering.  In no way does it attempt to answer these questions, which is as it should be.

Talefolk - Good Enough

With faltering steps, the old prophet drew near, reached out, and put a bony hand on his shoulder.

"In the name of God for Whom I speak," he called out, "your past, present, and future efforts are accepted of Him. Be free now to serve without worry or anxiety. This does not mean that you are perfect, that you will not have sore trials, or that you will not make mistakes. But God trusts your heart to learn from and correct your mistakes, and to ask for the help and strength you need. Go now. Your choices, plans, and actions will continue to fall short of the world's (and even your own) approval at times, but you will remember this moment and be comforted that God works His secret Will through all those who love and strive as you do."

We Are Broken

I am cracked and chipped.
I leak.
There are so many vessels that hold more water than me.

Oh. I see you are cracked too.
Wow! How'd you do that?
That is a weird break.
(Glad I'm not broken like that.)
(At least I can hold a little water.)
(Did I just say that out loud?)
(No. Whew! Good.)

WHOA! AAAGH! *Crash!*
Oh great! Just look at me now!
This is worse than that cup I saw the other day!
I am completely useless now!
*SOBBING*

Hello.
I see you.
Don't worry about that.
It's just a scratch.
You wouldn't believe it to see me now
but I once was shattered into a thousand pieces.
I hope you never have to go through
what I went through.
(But you do.)
(Everyone does.)
(Did I just say that out loud?)
(No. Whew! Good.)
(I couldn't have handled it either.)

The Cain Syndrome

Genesis Chapter 4

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

It is not clear from the text why the Lord had respect for Abel's offering, but not for Cain's. But from what we know about the Lord's character, we can assume that He is not being unfair, and that He loves Cain every bit as much as He loves Abel.

There have been times in my life when I have felt like the Lord has "had not respect" to my offerings, when all my efforts and sacrifices have not been enough to secure the blessing or outcome I desired. At such times, it is easy to fall into what I am calling the "Cain Syndrome": we become resentful and angry at God; we give up trying to please Him, and may even rebel against Him out of spite.

When we are tempted to feel this way, perhaps we should consider the following points:

1. Perhaps the Lord, knowing our potential far better than we do, wants us to try a little harder, dig a little deeper, or hold on a little longer, before granting our desires. This may seem cruel, but those of us who have children know the difference between sincere effort and a token one. If all our wants were granted after just a half-hearted try, not only would it cheapen the reward, but we would be robbed of the opportunity to grow and be stretched into greater beings. It's so easy to say this, and perhaps it is not appropriate or helpful to say to those who are currently struggling under burdens or bondage that seem indefinite. I recently read the remarkable account of a man who spent over 10 years in prison for his faith in and conversion to the restored gospel. How inspiring that He did not succumb to the same temptations that Cain did!
2. Perhaps we are trying really hard to give the Lord something that He has not asked for. I do this a lot. Sometimes we are so terrified to give what the Lord asks for, that we go to great lengths to give Him something else in the hopes that it will compensate for that which we cannot bear to relinquish or place on His altar. But it does not work this way. A good example of this is the behavior of King Saul in 1 Samuel Chapter 15. There is great wisdom and purpose in the Lord's directions and commands. Rationalizing or substituting our own judgment for His is the opposite of trusting Him. There is a time for us to make judgment calls and exercise prudence (see Alma 22:22, for example), but it should be done humbly and prayerfully, always with the willingness to do whatever the Lord requires.

Perhaps you have some thoughts on this matter. If so, please share them by commenting on this post below.